I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4041 

To establish a task force to share best practices on computer programming 

and coding for elementary schools and secondary schools, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 17, 2015 

Mr. CA ́RDENAS (for himself, Mr. FARENTHOLD, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Mr. 

GALLEGO, Mr. GUTIE ́RREZ, Mr. HONDA, Mr. COHEN, Mr. FOSTER, and 

Ms. JUDY CHU of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To establish a task force to share best practices on computer 

programming and coding for elementary schools and secondary schools, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘416d65726963612043616e20436f6465 Act of 2015’’ or 

6 the ‘‘America Can Code Act of 2015’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) According to the National Science Founda2 tion, 2 percent of students studying science, tech3 nology, engineering, or math (STEM) are computer 

4 science majors, while 60 percent of STEM jobs are 

5 in the computing field. 

6 (2) The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates 

7 that computer programming jobs are growing at 

8 twice the national job growth average, and these 

9 jobs are high paying middle class jobs that can se10 cure the financial future of many American families 

11 and also help grow the United States economy. 

12 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

13 It is the sense of Congress that— 

14 (1) secondary schools should focus on preparing 

15 career and technical students, including underrep16 resented groups such as minorities and women, for 

17 academic and technical opportunities in postsec18 ondary education or entry into a high paying, skilled 

19 job in the computer programming field; 

20 (2) elementary schools and secondary schools 

21 should place emphasis on coding and computer pro22 gramming as a vocational and technical education 

23 track; 


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1 (3) educators should rethink the way coding as 

2 a skill is conceptualized within the education system 

3 and in our society; and 

4 (4) learning to write and read code is critical to 

5 creating and innovating in cyberspace, and learning 

6 this language is also a skill critical to the national 

7 security and economic competitiveness of the United 

8 States. 

9 SEC. 4. CODING AS A CRITICAL FOREIGN LANGUAGE. 

10 Section 6001(b)(1) of the America COMPETES Act 

11 (20 U.S.C. 9802(b)(1)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, includ12 ing a computer programming language,’’ after ‘‘a foreign 

13 language’’. 

14 SEC. 5. AMENDMENTS TO THE CARL D. PERKINS VOCA15 TIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION ACT OF 

16 2006. 

17 The Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Edu18 cation Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.) is amended— 

19 (1) in section 122(c) (20 U.S.C. 2342(c))— 

20 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

21 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 

22 (I) in the first sentence, by in23 serting ‘‘, including coding and com24 puter programming,’’ after ‘‘the caVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:46 Nov 20, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4041.IH H4041

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1 reer and technical programs of 

2 study’’; and 

3 (II) in clause (iv), by inserting ‘‘, 

4 particularly in the technology field’’ 

5 after ‘‘or an associate or bacca6 laureate degree’’; 

7 (ii) in subparagraph (H), by inserting 

8 ‘‘, especially in computer programming’’ 

9 after ‘‘in current or emerging occupa10 tions’’; and 

11 (iii) in subparagraph (I)(iii), by in12 serting ‘‘, especially in computer program13 ming’’ after ‘‘or high demand occupa14 tions’’; 

15 (B) in paragraph (7)— 

16 (i) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by insert17 ing ‘‘, particularly coding and computer 

18 programming’’ after ‘‘career and technical 

19 education subjects’’; and 

20 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by inserting 

21 ‘‘, such as the technology industry’’ after 

22 ‘‘all aspects of an industry’’; 

23 (C) in paragraph (9)(C), by inserting ‘‘, 

24 especially in computer programming’’ after ‘‘or 

25 high demand occupations’’; 


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1 (D) in paragraph (16), by inserting ‘‘, es2 pecially in computer programming’’ after ‘‘re3 gional occupational opportunities’’; and 

4 (E) in paragraph (18), by inserting ‘‘, es5 pecially in computer programming’’ after ‘‘or 

6 high demand occupations and non-traditional 

7 fields’’; and 

8 (2) in section 203 (20 U.S.C. 2373)— 

9 (A) in subsection (c)— 

10 (i) in paragraph (2)— 

11 (I) in subparagraph (B), by in12 serting ‘‘, especially in coding and 

13 computer programming,’’ after ‘‘inte14 grates academic and career and tech15 nical education instruction’’; 

16 (II) in subparagraph (C), by in17 serting ‘‘, especially in computer pro18 gramming’’ after ‘‘or high demand oc19 cupations’’; 

20 (III) in subparagraph (E), by in21 serting ‘‘, particularly in the tech22 nology field’’ after ‘‘in a specific ca23 reer field’’; and 

24 (IV) in subparagraph (F), by in25 serting ‘‘, particularly in computer 


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1 programming,’’ after ‘‘or high wage 

2 employment’’; and 

3 (ii) in paragraph (6), by inserting ‘‘, 

4 particularly in the technology industry,’’ 

5 after ‘‘(including preapprenticeship pro6 grams)’’; 

7 (B) in subsection (d)(1), by inserting ‘‘, in8 cluding hardware and software’’ after ‘‘provide 

9 for the acquisition of tech prep program equip10 ment’’; and 

11 (C) in subsection (e)(1)— 

12 (i) in subparagraph (B)— 

13 (I) by redesignating clauses (iv) 

14 and (v) as (v) and (vi), respectively; 

15 and 

16 (II) by inserting after clause (iii) 

17 the following: 

18 ‘‘(iv) complete a State or industry-rec19 ognized certification or licensure in com20 puter programming;’’; and 

21 (ii) in subparagraph (C)— 

22 (I) by redesignating clauses (iii) 

23 and (iv) as (iv) and (v), respectively; 

24 and 


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1 (II) by inserting after clause (ii) 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘(iii) complete a State or industry4 recognized certification or licensure in 

5 computer programming;’’. 

6 SEC. 6. TASK FORCE ON COMPUTER PROGRAMMING AND 

7 CODING. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF TASK FORCE ON COMPUTER

9 PROGRAMMING AND CODING.—Not later than 180 days 

10 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

11 Education shall convene a task force to explore— 

12 (1) mechanisms for the development of draft 

13 curricula for elementary and secondary education 

14 with respect to computer programming and coding; 

15 (2) a mechanism to collect and share best prac16 tices among educators with respect to computer pro17 gramming and coding at the elementary school and 

18 secondary school levels; and 

19 (3) a national strategy to ensure competitive20 ness in emerging STEM fields, such as computer 

21 programming and coding. 

22 (b) FUNCTIONS.—The task force shall— 

23 (1) develop options for a collaborative model 

24 and an organizational structure for such task force 

25 under which the joint research and development acVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:46 Nov 20, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4041.IH H4041

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1 tivities may be planned, managed, and conducted ef2 fectively, including mechanisms for the allocation of 

3 resources among the participants of such task force 

4 for support of such activities; 

5 (2) identify and prioritize at least 3 challenges 

6 of educating and training a workforce equipped to 

7 fill computer science and engineering jobs, particu8 larly focused on nationally significant problems re9 quiring collaborative and interdisciplinary solutions; 

10 (3) propose a process for developing a research 

11 and development agenda for such task force to ad12 dress the challenges identified under paragraph (2); 

13 (4) define the roles and responsibilities for the 

14 members from each of the groups described in para15 graphs (1) through (4) of subsection (c); 

16 (5) establish the information portal described in 

17 subsection (e); and 

18 (6) make recommendations for how the task 

19 force may be funded from Federal, State, and non20 governmental sources. 

21 (c) COMPOSITION.—In establishing the task force 

22 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall appoint to serve 

23 on the task force an equal number of representatives from 

24 each of the following 4 groups: 


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1 (1) The Department of Education and other 

2 relevant Federal Government agencies. 

3 (2) Elementary school or secondary school 

4 teachers. 

5 (3) Institutions of higher education, including 

6 minority-serving institutions and community col7 leges. 

8 (4) Employers of individuals with expertise in 

9 computer science and engineering. 

10 (d) COMPENSATION AND EXPENSES.—Members of 

11 the task force shall serve without compensation. 

12 (e) INFORMATION PORTAL.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The task force shall estab14 lish and maintain, an information portal which 

15 shall— 

16 (A) include the establishment of an online, 

17 publicly available information portal for use by 

18 elementary schools and secondary schools and 

19 stakeholders that directs users to key data and 

20 tools to build or update curricula for elementary 

21 and secondary education on coding and com22 puter programming; and 

23 (B) expand and be complementary to exist24 ing Federal efforts promoting coding and com25 puter programming in elementary schools and 


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1 secondary schools to prepare for high paying 

2 skilled jobs in the computer programming field. 

3 (2) CONTENTS.—The information portal estab4 lished under this subsection shall direct users (who 

5 may include elementary schools and secondary 

6 schools, academia, and private sector stakeholders, 

7 and non-profit organizations with expertise in cod8 ing), to coordinated and systematic information on 

9 promoting coding and computer programming in ele10 mentary schools and secondary schools to prepare 

11 students for high paying skilled jobs in the computer 

12 programming field, including— 

13 (A) best or model practices; 

14 (B) data; 

15 (C) case studies; 

16 (D) indicators; 

17 (E) scientific reports; 

18 (F) policy recommendations for Federal, 

19 State, and local government; 

20 (G) guidance documents and design stand21 ards for elementary schools and secondary 

22 schools; 

23 (H) incentives for teachers; 

24 (I) education initiatives; 


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1 (J) support tools, including draft curricula 

2 and appropriate materials for teachers; 

3 (K) public and private sources of assist4 ance to available to support computer science 

5 and engineering in elementary schools and sec6 ondary schools; and 

7 (L) such other information as the coordi8 nating as the task force considers appropriate. 

9 (f) REPORT.—Not later than 24 months after the 

10 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall transmit 

11 to the Committees on Education and Workforce and Over12 sight and Government Reform of the House of Represent13 atives and the Committees on Health, Education, Labor, 

14 and Pensions and Homeland Security and Governmental 

15 Affairs of the Senate a report describing the findings and 

16 recommendations of the task force. 

17 (g) TERMINATION.—The task force shall terminate 

18 upon the completion of information portal report required 

19 under subsection (e) and the transmittal of the report re20 quired under subsection (f). 

21 (h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 (1) ESEA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘elementary 

23 school’’ and ‘‘secondary school’’ have the meanings 

24 given the terms in section 9101 of the Elementary 


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1 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

2 7801). 

3 (2) COMMUNITY COLLEGE.—The term ‘‘commu4 nity college’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘junior 

5 or community college’’ in section 312(f) of the High6 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1058(f)). 

7 (3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

8 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

9 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 

10 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

11 (4) MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTION.—The 

12 term ‘‘minority-serving institution’’ means an insti13 tution described in section 371(a) of the Higher 

14 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 20 U.S.C. 

15 1067q(a)). 

16 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

17 the Secretary of Education. 

Æ 


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